As one of millions of American citizens who don't own a gun or consider gun ownership part of my personal DNA, I'm tired of a powerful national organization for gun advocates that seems tone-deaf in the face of unprecedented concern about the amount of gun violence in our society.

I'm tired of an organization that constantly resists any initiative for more gun control even in the wake of sensational shootings that have become a disturbing part of the American fabric.

I'm tired of tight-faced National Rifle Association officials such as executive vice president Wayne LaPierre making outlandish statements after tragedies such as the elementary school shooting in Newtown, Conn., that lack even a pinch of compassion for child victims but instead pile on blame for gun violence on society's love of Hollywood movies and video games.

I'm tired of the NRA suggesting that the only viable solution to mass shootings is to place armed guards in every American school, a solution many American parents soundly reject as well as one that doesn't take into account the shootings that happen in other public areas such as shopping malls, movie theaters and houses of worship.

I'm tired of politicians - mostly Republicans - who defer to the NRA at every turn to preserve their positive ratings from the gun rights group even in the face of unprecedented gun violence that has many citizens anxious for some sort of action from government.

I'm tired of mean-spirited NRA ads that blast President Barack Obama as an elitist because his children get armed protection from Secret Service agents while most other parents do not. It's such a wild comparison it can't even be debated rationally.

Over the past decade, I have interviewed reasonable NRA members and gun advocates to get a better sense of their positions. My latest "gun guy" is Kevin Michalowski, executive editor of Concealed Carry Magazine in Jackson.

Michalowski was attending the popular Shooting, Hunting and Outdoor Trade show (SHOT) in Las Vegas last week when I contacted him about Obama's latest proposals for more gun control. I asked him bluntly if NRA spokesmen such as LaPierre did more harm than good.

"I do not feel the NRA has damaged the cause with its comments," said Michalowski. "This is a response to a powerful, tremendous tragedy. Even though these types of events are very rare when you consider the overall population and the number of total crimes, they shake us all to the bone. They shake us because they are so rare and so horrific."

Michalowski said when it came to protecting children, nothing should be off the table, including armed guards in schools.

I wanted to know if Michalowski and his NRA brethren had anything good to say about Obama's proposals for gun control last week. True to form, he didn't.

Michalowski summed up:

"In the unlikely event that my children or I am faced with an armed assailant, I want the ability for someone to respond in kind to provide immediate protection. It may be me or an armed guard or an armed teacher, but if a bad guy comes through the door, I want him met immediately with the same force he brings to perpetrate his evil act."

I respect his opinions, but the truth is I have almost no way to relate to Michalowski's approach to this issue.

In fact, I see his views on guns as part and parcel of the same paranoid, fear-based stance that I believe is the only thing the NRA has going for it in the ongoing public debate.

If the NRA can persuade enough Americans they need guns in their lives in order to defend their families against violent attack - no matter how unlikely the scenario - as opposed to simply advocating a position that allows hunters and sportsmen to engage in a harmless pastime, the organization sends a message wrapped in a Second Amendment that many believe is long outdated.

That message: More guns, not fewer, are the answer.

When that's the case, you can't be surprised when there's another Newtown or a Columbine or Virginia Tech.

What Obama was saying last week is that we should continue to be alarmed when these events happen but, more important, we have to find a way to make it more difficult for them to happen.

If the NRA can't get with that program, its leaders really are as out of touch as their critics have claimed.